Real-World Impact of Upfront Cytoreductive Nephrectomy in Metastatic Non-Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Treated with First-Line Immunotherapy Combinations or Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (A Sub-Analysis from the ARON-1 Retrospective Study)

Background About 20% of patients with renal cell carcinoma present with non-clear cell histology (nccRCC), encompassing various histological types. While surgery remains pivotal for localized-stage nccRCC, the role of cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) in metastatic nccRCC is contentious. Limited data exist on the role of CN in metastatic nccRCC under current standard of care. Objective This retrospective study focused on the impact of upfront CN on metastatic nccRCC outcomes with first-line immune checkpoint inhibitor (IO) combinations or tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) monotherapy. Methods The study included 221 patients with nccRCC and synchronous metastatic disease, treated with IO combinations or TKI monotherapy in the first line. Baseline clinical characteristics, systemic therapy, and treatment outcomes were analyzed. The primary objective was to assess clinical outcomes, including progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Statistical analysis involved the Fisher exact test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, analysis of variance, Kaplan–Meier method, log-rank test, and univariate/multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models. Results Median OS for patients undergoing upfront CN was 36.8 (95% confidence interval [CI] 24.9–71.3) versus 20.8 (95% CI 12.6–24.8) months for those without CN ( p = 0.005). Upfront CN was significantly associated with OS in the multivariate Cox regression analysis (hazard ratio 0.47 [95% CI 0.31−0.72], p < 0.001). In patients without CN, the median OS and PFS was 24.5 (95% CI 18.1–40.5) and 13.0 months (95% CI 6.6–23.5) for patients treated with IO+TKI versus 7.5 (95% CI 4.3–22.4) and 4.9 months (95% CI 3.0–8.1) for those receiving the IO+IO combination ( p = 0.059 and p = 0.032, respectively). Conclusions Our study demonstrates the survival benefits of upfront CN compared with systemic therapy without CN. The study suggests that the use of IO+TKI combination or, eventually, TKI monotherapy might be a better choice than IO+IO combination for patients who are not candidates for CN regardless of IO eligibility. Prospective trials are needed to validate these findings and refine the role of CN in current mRCC management.